Nintendo announces the "3DS" with no need for glasses

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http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/201...

My mind is kind of blown.... How would this even work!?

Some manner of Autostereo display probably. They are increasingly rolling out for HDTVs and have had some minor use in some mobile phones in Japan for a while now. The only draw back is they often only work when you're head is in a particular sweet spot, more of an issue for and HDTV than a hand held device though.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autoste...

One factor in their favour is that the viewer is closer to a handheld screen than any other display, I'd say 2 foot away maximum. The difference in viewing angle for each eye could be enough that they can use that as a method for showing different left/right images. The problem with this idea, would be that the DS can be used in normal landscape or as a book, and I'm not sure if such a method would work at 90 degrees rotation as well.

Nintendo, my wallet is your playground. Be gentle.

I have no idea of the source, but how about this? http://www.eurogamer.net/videos/coul...
which reminds me of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd3-e...

Not 3D with items popping out of the screen, but depth behind the screen.

Virtual Boy 2.0. I can't wait! At least I won't have to try and sell it like I did with the Virtual Boyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_Boy. I never sold one and had to beg for someone to take the demo unit. Sure, the technology is better but it's a whole system based on the 3d gimmick. They'll re-release all the games that already exist buy ooooh, they're in 3d now. *shrug*

Why is everyone in a rush to use/make everything in 3d? I don't remember a rush to make movies about sinking ships after Titanic did so well but maybe I didn't notice them.

This effect works better the closer your face is to the screen, so I think that handhelds are really the only place it makes sense, although I've read that people are coming out with TVs that do it too, in the hope that people will find it worthwhile to have suboptimal 3D if it doesn't require glasses.

wizard_in_motley wrote:

Virtual Boy 2.0. I can't wait! At least I won't have to try and sell it like I did with the Virtual Boyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_Boy. I never sold one and had to beg for someone to take the demo unit. Sure, the technology is better but it's a whole system based on the 3d gimmick. They'll re-release all the games that already exist buy ooooh, they're in 3d now. *shrug*

Why is everyone in a rush to use/make everything in 3d? I don't remember a rush to make movies about sinking ships after Titanic did so well but maybe I didn't notice them.

Yeah, show me the game that couldn't be implemented without the technology and I'll concede that's not just a gimmick (see also motion control)

Sounds really interesting to me, very curious to see how well it works.

Scratched wrote:

I have no idea of the source, but how about this? http://www.eurogamer.net/videos/coul...

If it works as per this video then it is unlikely to be an Autostereo display. Might very well work by doing a little face/eye recognition as per one of the comments. Wouldn't be that hard to implement

I really just have to say Meh, I have no interest in this for two reasons

One I can't see 3d at all, so it never works for me and number two, it seems like it would be more of a gimmick than anything but I guess we will see.

Over our weekly beers and pool session on Sunday, my best mate and I come up with the technology that would sell us both on the Home 3D Revolution: the ability to punch the douchebags in Carl's Jr. ads. When that day comes, the technology has merit.

SpacePPoliceman wrote:

Over our weekly beers and pool session on Sunday, my best mate and I come up with the technology that would sell us both on the Home 3D Revolution: the ability to punch the douchebags in Carl's Jr. ads. When that day comes, the technology has merit.

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions." Where "Hell" in this case is a 3D Burger King that pops out of your TV to leer at you while you sleep.

One thing I like about Nintendo, is that they always find a way for me not to get a DS. Every time a thought creeps up into my mind of getting a DS, they always announce something new. So, I just wait for the latest and greatest... and my wallet seems to be happy with that concept!

Nintendo has been investing a lot of money in 3d tech for years, it's in their financial statements. No one knows how it's done but we're going to see great examples of games "journalism" by pulling stuff out of their ass. I'll wait until E3 to see what they have.

sheesh, I even looked for this for a couple of pages in the Games and Platforms forum and I still missed it!

A bit of infor from my other post:

Also, Kotaku has a bit of speculation on how it might work, but nobody really knows.

Anyways, after thinking about it for a minute I said to myself, great, they're jumping on the 3D bandwagon, but what about HD?

Yeah, that and too many iteration of DS are happening now. I mean, they announce the 3DS just as the DS XL is coming out in America? That just seems counterproductive.

Nei wrote:

One thing I like about Nintendo, is that they always find a way for me not to get a DS. Every time a thought creeps up into my mind of getting a DS, they always announce something new. So, I just wait for the latest and greatest... and my wallet seems to be happy with that concept! :)

Funny thing is that I'm in the same boat too.

I've been eyeing a DS purchase for years, but they just keep on reiterating it. I finally got to a point not long ago where I simply said, "Screw it, a 'next-gen' DS can't be too far around the corner...I'll just wait for that.".

I, for one, am hot for this. Ninty handhelds have been a staple of my gaming since Tetris on the Gameboy Color. That, 3 GBAs and 3 DS's later.

And my phattie DS is getting on a bit. Time for a refresh.

I'm fascinated to see how 3D gaming goes. I should point out that I'm not necessarily expecting it to be good, but I'm sure interested.

I'm really intrigued by this. I was actually musing about the Virtual Boy and the current fad for 3D on my way in to work this morning. Not requiring glasses for a 3D effect would go a long way toward its gaining acceptance and utility with a home audience.

That said, I probably won't be buying one of these. I don't have any opportunity in my life to play handheld games, or else I'd have already purchased a DS.

mrtomaytohead wrote:

Anyways, after thinking about it for a minute I said to myself, great, they're jumping on the 3D bandwagon, but what about HD?

What's the point to having HD in a handheld device? The screens are so teeny-tiny that you won't get much real use out of 720p but will dramatically increase your production costs.

Lothar wrote:

I really just have to say Meh, I have no interest in this for two reasons

One I can't see 3d at all, so it never works for me and number two, it seems like it would be more of a gimmick than anything but I guess we will see.

If it is a head/motion tracking solution then it will work for you. But I'm with you on your second point.

It's the new Virtual Boy!

Like most new Nintendo products I thought this was a joke at first. Gamecube? Wii? Hopefully this will change the laid-back vibe I've been getting from Nintendo lately. I love my DS and odds are I'll eat this 3DS up.

Yonder wrote:
SpacePPoliceman wrote:

Over our weekly beers and pool session on Sunday, my best mate and I come up with the technology that would sell us both on the Home 3D Revolution: the ability to punch the douchebags in Carl's Jr. ads. When that day comes, the technology has merit.

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions." Where "Hell" in this case is a 3D Burger King that pops out of your TV to leer at you while you sleep.

But he'd be punchable too! Wins all around!

Nintendo won my trust with the DS. I am really curious about this version. If they can pull it off, I'll be happy.

Lard wrote:

It's the new Virtual Boy!

That, sadly, was my first reaction. Tongue in cheek, of course.

I'm interested to hear more on what this all will actually involve, but I guess that's going to be a bit of a waiting game until E3 ... or next week ... you never know with Nintendo.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

What's the point to having HD in a handheld device? The screens are so teeny-tiny that you won't get much real use out of 720p but will dramatically increase your production costs.

It was more of a 'why are they quick to jump on this bandwagon and not the even bother with the previous one that is a sure thing on when they had the opportunity, which is admitedly in a whole other arena entirely, being a console and not a handheld.

You are right, HD on a handheld seems silly, but they sure could stand to up the resolution from the current DS at least some. The fact that it will be current DS compatible doesn't bode well, though. What's the resolution difference between the GBA and DS?

Also, all the people pointing out Nintendo's recent history of taking probably bad ideas and making them huge successes has got to count for something.

mrtomaytohead wrote:

It was more of a 'why are they quick to jump on this bandwagon and not the even bother with the previous one that is a sure thing on when they had the opportunity, which is admitedly in a whole other arena entirely, being a console and not a handheld.

This is a bit off-topic, but... I think that, in retrospect, not including HD in the Wii was a smart move for the console. When that console launched, HD wasn't yet ubiquitous, and not including the hardware necessary to power HD resolutions kept the production costs of the console low, resulting in a lower selling price. The phenomenal success of the Wii has a lot to do with it not being an HD console.

That said, I'd be shocked if the next Nintendo console wasn't HD capable and didn't include 1:1 motion controls out of the box.

mrtomaytohead wrote:

Also, all the people pointing out Nintendo's recent history of taking probably bad ideas and making them huge successes has got to count for something.

I'll never count Nintendo out. Both the Wii and the DS seemed like odd ideas to me when I first read about them, and they've gone on to be huge hits. Who knows about the 3DS, though? It sounds like a gimmick, but so did motion controls and touchscreens.

mrtomaytohead wrote:
ClockworkHouse wrote:

What's the point to having HD in a handheld device? The screens are so teeny-tiny that you won't get much real use out of 720p but will dramatically increase your production costs.

It was more of a 'why are they quick to jump on this bandwagon and not the even bother with the previous one that is a sure thing on when they had the opportunity, which is admitedly in a whole other arena entirely, being a console and not a handheld.

You are right, HD on a handheld seems silly, but they sure could stand to up the resolution from the current DS at least some. The fact that it will be current DS compatible doesn't bode well, though. What's the resolution difference between the GBA and DS?

Also, all the people pointing out Nintendo's recent history of taking probably bad ideas and making them huge successes has got to count for something.

Nintendo is jumping on any bandwagon. 3D is jumping on Nintendo's bandwagon, they've been investing huge money into 3D tech for years well before Avatar was released. And on the last 4 guys 1up podcast, someone said that James Cameron had to create a lot of new tech because Nintendo owns patents on a lot of 3d tech.

mrtomaytohead wrote:

You are right, HD on a handheld seems silly, but they sure could stand to up the resolution from the current DS at least some. The fact that it will be current DS compatible doesn't bode well, though. What's the resolution difference between the GBA and DS?

Since you asked. 240 × 160 and 256 x 192.

garion333 wrote:

Since you asked. 240 × 160 and 256 x 192.

Is it too much to ask / expect 320 x 240?

Spoiler:

Probably

Ulairi:
I wonder if they've been waiting for a 3D resurgence to finally bring it to market. Do you have any links to some of the crazy stuff people dig up like patents and such that Nintendo holds. I'd be interested to see it.

A lot of dismissal here because of the 3D; I'm way more interested in the gamecube-level graphical abilities alluded to earlier.

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